Playing with Fire
by HoplessRomance
Summary: Somewhere down the line, he started to fall for her. He hadn't expected it and definitely didn't want it, but it happened. Nathan Scott didn't fall for girls, girls fell for him, that's just the way things were supposed to happen.


I recently coaxed my friend into watching OTH and while she was texting me about it, this random one shot came to my mind. It was stuck in my head all day and I just knew that I had to write it. It's kind of dumb and pointless but oh well. Something that I'm kind of bummed about is that we never got much visual and conversational pieces about Nathan crushing on Haley in the show. We had like the scenes where Haley tells Lucas that she likes him and all of the conversations between Haley and Peyton regarding her feelings for Nathan but not much from Nathan. I'm sure the writers had their reasons for keeping that out but I'm still bummed. So this one-shot is basically centered on Nathan's feelings. The plot line isn't unique and I've read some one shots that are similar to this but again, I just had to write it.

For those of you who read Razor Sharp, I should have an update ready for you sometime this week. I'm also working on another one shot type of thing that I teamed up with someone on (it's a three-parter so it's not necessarily a one shot but it's not a full fledge story either). I'm about half way done with the first part of it, so look out for that! I have been a writing machine lately.

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He knew he was playing with fire.

She was who she was and he was who he was. They were complete opposites, located on completely different ends of the spectrum. They were like night and day, light and dark…but as much as that scared him, it also made him feel a type of peace that he didn't think he would ever feel.

Nathan Scott doesn't do feelings. Or, at least, he didn't used to. Feelings complicated things. Feelings meant being vulnerable and being vulnerable was not something Nathan ever wanted to be. Maybe that was because his dad drilled it into his head at such a young age that being vulnerable meant being weak and being weak was a disgrace to the Scott name. So, Nathan decided that it was easier to not care about anything except basketball. Basketball was the only thing he needed.

But then a girl by the name of Haley James came along and suddenly everything in his life seemed to be thrown off kilter. He didn't have the innocent of intentions when he first approached her. She was supposed to be just another pawn in his scheme to bring Lucas Scott, his unwarranted half-brother, down. Lucas was quickly encroaching on his territory. He was becoming a threat to everything that Nathan had authority over and he wasn't going to stand for it. Just when he was starting to lose all hope, Nathan discovered Lucas' weakness- his best friend. So, he crafted what he believed was the perfect plan- get the tutor chick to fall for him only to break her heart in the end. But somewhere along the way, the lines of his plan became extremely blurry.

He wasn't really sure how it had happened or even when. One minute, he was attempting to charm her, something that he quickly learned she was immune to, or at least, she pretended to be immune to. It had shocked him, at first. Normally, all he had to do was say a few smooth lines and toss in a few smirks before a girl became putty in his hands. But Haley, she was quick to shut down his advances. In fact, she didn't seem phased by his flirting at all. It shocked the hell of him but it was also one of the things that intrigued him most about her.

Haley James was different than any girl he had ever met and he wasn't just saying that because she had somehow found a way to resist his charm, she really was just different. She didn't care much about labels or the popular crowd. She didn't care much about fitting in. She treated people with the same amount of respect, regardless of their popularity status. But, she also didn't allow people to walk all over her. Haley was a spitfire, sarcasm and wit being a prominent attribute to her personality. All of these things seemed to just draw him to her even more but the thing that really hooked him was her heart. She actually cared about people. She would do anything to protect the people that she loved, he had a front row seat to that when she demanded that he leave Lucas alone.

It was her heart that him opening up to her. Her soft brown eyes seemed to stare right into his soul and she genuinely seemed to care about what he had to say. He quickly found himself wanting to divulge all of his deepest and darkest secrets to her. She saw him, the real him. She didn't treat him like Nathan Scott, the Tree Hill basketball star and the next marker in the Dan Scott legacy. She treated him like Nathan, the teenage boy who felt like he had the world on his shoulders.

So, somewhere down the line, he started to fall for her. He hadn't expected it and definitely didn't want it, but it happened. Nathan Scott didn't fall for girls, girls fell for him, that's just the way things were supposed to happen. Part of him wondered if maybe this was karma. After all, he did go after her with the full intention of having him fall for her and then break her heart. It seemed only fitting that karma would bite him in the ass by having the complete opposite happen. But, looking at her now, he realizes that he never stood a chance. Falling for her was inevitable and he was a fool if he believed otherwise.

They're sitting in the Tutor Center, a comfortable silence hovering over the both of them. Haley is busy checking over his History test that he had just completed. The sunlight peeking in through the open blinds is hitting her directly, almost giving her an angelic glow. This image makes Nathan's heart putter loudly in his chest. Never in his life had looking at a girl caused such a reaction in him and that is just another reminder that he is encroaching on uncharted territory. He can't seem to tear his eyes away from her and her constant shifting in her seat tells him that she knows he's staring.

She's so beautiful and he tries to recall a time he had ever called a girl beautiful in his life but comes up empty handed. He's called plenty of girls hot, sexy even but never beautiful. None of the girls he associated himself with ever seemed worthy of that compliment…until now. That realization alone has his heart pounding even louder in his chest. Unable to control himself, he lets his eyes marvel, for what felt like the hundredth time, over the beauty that is sitting in front of him.

Her brown hair is swept up and twisted in to some braid that he doesn't know the name of. The sunlight gives her hair a kind of red hue, the colors dancing in a way that is almost hypnotizing. His fingers itch with the desire to tangle themselves within the strands, to feel the silk weave between the curves of his fingers. Then, his eyes fall to her eyes. She's looking down and he can vaguely see her eyes scanning over his history test. It disturbs him a little that even though she's not looking at him, he can still picture their perfect shape and their perfect color as if she was staring back at him. She used to stare at him with such disdain, a direct result of the guard she always seemed to have up around him and all of the terrible things he had done. But, over the weeks, he's noticed them start to thaw. She now looks at him with such a warmness that he swears he can feel all the way down to his toes.

His gaze lands on her lips next and he finds himself licking his own lips in response. Her bottom lip is wedged between her teeth and he finds himself wishing that he was the one biting her lip. He wants to kiss her, God, does he want to kiss her. Her lips always look so soft, so enticing. They're usually glossy and he wonders just what they taste like. He bets they taste like something fruity. Strawberry or maybe even cherry. It's insane just how much he wants to kiss her, to feel her mouth moving against his, to feel her body pressed tightly against his. Never in his life had he wanted something so badly.

His physical attraction to her doesn't necessarily scare him. How intense his feelings of attraction are startles him a little but still doesn't scare him.

The part of all of this that scares him the most is just how badly he wants her in more than just the physical way. In the past, he only looked as girls as something as a service to him. They would be a way for him to relieve stress, a quick lay that was more about his pleasure than anything else. Even his relationship with Peyton could be describe as that same type of scenario. It was a constant source of sex and partying. But that's the last thing he wanted with Haley.

He has this kind of yearning inside of him. The desire to just hold her in his arms is strong. The desire to just feel the weight of her pressed against him, to be able to brush his fingertips against the bare skin of her arms, to listen to the soft sound of her breathing, to feel her heart beat…it all makes his head spin. He wants to be able to hold her hand, to feel her delicate and small fingers encased in his. He wants to spend hours upon hours just talking to her, taking the time to learn every little thing there is to know about her. He wants to be the reason she smiles or the reason she laughs. He wants her in every sense of the word.

It's all of that poetic shit that he couldn't understand but somehow makes complete sense to him now.

He isn't good enough for her, he knows that. His whole life is just a string of fuck-ups and shortcomings. He's not the good guy and he's never been the good guy…but he wants to be, for her. He has no idea what it's like to be in a real relationship, his history with Peyton pretty much confirms that. But he wants to learn, for her.

He knows that Lucas would never stand for them being together and there are still so many obstacles presented by his dad but somehow, none of that seemed to matter to him. And he knows that Haley won't be quick to drop her the rest of her guard completely. But, that doesn't deter him either. He is willing to prove to her that he can be the good guy, the guy that is good enough to be with her. He just needed to convince her to give him a chance.

And at this point, he would do anything to convince her. Yet another thing that shakes him to his core. He never cared before. If a girl wasn't interested in him (or rather, interested in sleeping with him), he would just walk away and move on to the next one. But with Haley, there was no way he could walk away.

"Good job," Her sweet voice echoes through the Tutor Center, breaking him out of his deep thoughts. He watches as she slides his test back to him, a beaming smile on her face and he swears his heart stops. God, he has it bad.

He looks down at his test to see a bright red "B+" at the top of the page. He widens his eyes in surprise. History was his worst subject, next to Math.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," he mutters out loud.

"I was," Haley declares. "I knew you had it in you."

Nathan can't help but smile at her words. "You have more faith in me than I have in myself."

She shrugs her shoulders as she places the cap back on her red marker. "You need to give yourself more credit, Nathan."

He suppresses a shiver as his name rolls of her tongue. He usually feels indifferent towards his name. He doesn't hate it but he doesn't love it either. But hearing it her voice and watching the way her mouth forms the word has him appreciating his name more.

"Or I could give you all the credit. After all, you are a miracle worker. I hated History up until I had you teaching me it," He admits with a wink, the corner of his mouth turning up into a mild smirk.

A light blush covers her cheeks and Nathan's smirk widens. Making Haley James blush was one of his favorite past times. The way the color would slowly spread across her cheeks, down her neck and then disappear beneath the collar of her shirt. He often wondered just how far that blush spread.

She shakes her head as she begins to pack up her things. Nathan feels a slight pang in his chest. He's not ready for their lesson to be over, he never is.

"Are you coming to the game tonight?" He suddenly asks. Its become kind of a routine for him to ask her that every game day. It used to be a way to fill the awkward silence that would inevitably sneak its way into their tutoring sessions. Now, he asked out of genuine curiosity and every single time he asked, he silently prayed she said "yes."

Haley shrugs as she zips up her backpack. "I wasn't planning on it."

"You should come," He inwardly cringes at just how desperate he sounds. Since when did Nathan Scott become so needy when it came to girls?

A teasing smile graces her face. "Why should I?"

It never fails to throw him for a loop when Haley initiates their harmless yet not so harmless flirting. He knows that she's not the most experienced when it comes to boys and flirting so the fact that she feels comfortable enough around him to even attempt to flirt fills him with more pride than it should.

"Because I want you to," Nathan states simply.

Nathan doesn't miss the way she looks down, trying to hide her now giddy smile. Or the way the blush reappears on her cheeks. He watches her intently as she visibly ponders his words, her fingers nervously plucking at the lint on her light blue sweater. Just when he thinks she's going to bolt out of the room, completely ignoring his declaration, she looks up.

"Okay," She breathes out. "I'll come."

He smiles genuinely. "I'll look for you in the stands."

She gives him a quick nod before turning on her heels and heading out of the Tutor Center. In an unbashful manner, he watches her leave. He takes in the slight sway of her hips and the way her braided hair bounces as she walks. He doesn't look away until she is no longer visible. It's then that he starts to pack up his own belongings, his mind still hazy with thoughts of Haley. A warm feeling spreads through him as he thinks about the next time he's to see her.

He knew he was playing with fire but he was strangely okay with the prospect of being burned.


End file.
